Chapter 7 — Rani’s Gift

Chapter 7 of the Class 2 Maths NCERT textbook (Joyful Mathematics), "Rani's Gift", introduces young learners to measurement through hands-on activities covering length, weight, and capacity using everyday objects and non-standard units.

• Measuring Length with Handspans — The chapter opens with a story about Raja Jagdeep who asks for a bed 10 handspans long, but different people measuring with their own hands get different answers (8 or 14 handspans). This shows children why a standard unit of measurement matters.
• Comparing Lengths of Objects and Paths — Children practice estimating and measuring the lengths of classroom objects like a desk, blackboard, and window using their textbook as a measuring tool. They also compare different paths between two points to find the longest and shortest routes.
• Measuring Height Using Blocks — The chapter uses stacked blocks to measure the height of toy animals like a giraffe, monkey, and elephant. Children fill in the number of blocks each toy is tall, building the idea of using a repeated unit to measure height.
• Comparing Weight: Lighter and Heavier — Using vegetables like pumpkin, muskmelon, capsicum, and carrot, children compare which objects are lighter or heavier. They learn to arrange objects in increasing order of weight and are guided to make a simple balance using a paper cup, thread, and hanger.
• Measuring Capacity with Glasses — The chapter introduces capacity through a nimbu pani (lemonade) recipe: 1 glass of water, 1 spoon of sugar, 2 spoons of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt makes 1 glass. Children scale the recipe up to 3 glasses, and compare how much water different bottles can hold.

1. 01In the chapter story, the same bed measured 8 handspans by one person and 14 handspans by another because people have different hand sizes.
2. 02Children measure classroom objects (desk, blackboard, window) using their textbook and record estimated and actual lengths.
3. 03Height can be measured by stacking blocks — for example, the giraffe's height is given in a number of blocks.
4. 04Vegetables like pumpkin, muskmelon, capsicum, and carrot are compared by weight using the terms lighter and heavier.
5. 05Children can make their own balance with a paper cup, thread, and hanger to compare the weight of two objects.
6. 06The nimbu pani recipe for 1 glass uses 1 glass water, 1 spoon sugar, 2 spoons lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.
7. 07Capacity is explored by comparing how many glasses of water fill different bottles.